PRIMITIVE ART. BOAS, FRANZ, 1951, Publisher: CAPITAL PUBLISHING COMPANY THE DECORATIVE ART OF THE INDIANS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC COAST. BOAS, FRANZ BULLETIN, 9, 1897

PRIMITIVE ART. BOAS, FRANZ, 1951, Publisher: CAPITAL PUBLISHING COMPANY THE DECORATIVE ART OF THE INDIANS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC COAST. BOAS, FRANZ BULLETIN, 9, 1897

By exchange

Anonymous loan

Gift of Dr. Clark Burnham

The object,known as a "copper," was cut into the shape of a shield from a flat sheet of copper alloy and hammered out to produce the animal face on the upper section and the ridge on the lower section. The upper section of this copper contains either the head of a bear or a beaver and has exposed metal as well as black and white painted areas. The delineation of the animal head on the upper area was achieved by scratching through painted and exposed metal areas. The lower section of the copper has two black painted panels with a vertical ridge. On the back of the object, there is some corrosion that is stable. The object is in good condition with minor surface scratches overall. Coppers were used as status symbols and were important economical commodities for their owners. The owner could break off part of one during a potlatch ceremony to demonstrate his or her largesse although this one shows no signs of having been used this way.

This is a carved wooden bowl carved with Northwest formline design.

This bentwood corner bowl was made by the distinctly Northwest Coast process called kerfing. A single plank of wood is first trimmed, notched , steamed and bent. The bottom and sides were then pegged or sewn together with tree root. Finally the bowl is decorated with carving, painting and adding operculum shell trims. The large bowl would have been used for dried food. The abstracted design on the sides represents a killer whale.